Memories turned into Nightmares
by MadMenagerie
Summary: A collection of one shots. A mixture of angst, drama, fluff, crack maybe. Idk. This is just where I dump all my one shots D
1. Day 1: Memories

**A/N: **This was written for Soma Week on Tumblr. Day One: Memories. It's actually something I've wanted to write for a while and just never did, so I'm glad I finally got it done. This is written from Soul's perspective and it's actually the first time I've written from his point of view so I'm sorry if he's ooc or anything. This is based of the anime not the manga for plot reasons. Italics are his thoughts. I will be writing one for each day of Soma Week so I hope you enjoy them.

Disclaimer: If I owned Soul Eater Maka and Soul would be having little adorable scythe and meister-lettes right now. But I don't, and we are all still waiting for the first kiss.

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_That sound. I know that sound somehow._ My eyes slowly open; my vision a whirling blur. _Those screams. They sound painful. _The last thing I remember is looking at my meister as I took that blow from the kishin. I must have passed out. _But where is Maka? _Maka screams as the kishin grips her side to wake her from her unconscious weapon form, breaking ribs in the process.

_That sound. Screaming?_ The realization hit me with the intensity of a freight train as soon as my brain registers it's her. _Maka is screaming._ I try to move but I can't. My body is too weak. I look around desperately trying to see her, she is nowhere. I can't see her, but I can hear her. Screaming. Screaming in pain, screaming for her life. If I can just reach her I can make it stop.

_What is he doing to her? _Panic begins to build as all the scenarios run through my mind, and the very likely possibility that he his killing her. I stare into the rubble around me in terror. I try to move again with no luck. _How useless am I? I can't even move. I can't protect her. I've failed. She deserves better._

Her screaming tears through my chest, my eyes water. _This is it. The battle is over. It ends with her. Are these the last breaths she'll take? Am I? Am I listening to my meister die right in front of me?_

He scrambles to a sitting position, breathing heavy and ragged. He can feel the sweat dripping off his face and his heart pounding against in his chest. Her screams still echoing in his mind. _Nightmare. _He thinks as he wipes his forehead dry with a shaking hand. _How uncool_. He tries to laugh at himself, but the noise he makes comes out strangled and frightened. He takes a few deep, slow breaths. It's not like this is the first time he's dreamed this. He's re-lived this memory almost every night since that battle a month ago. Her screams haunt him, reminding him of his failure to her. He tosses the covers aside in frustration.

He gets up and walks to the kitchen, quietly taking out a glass and filling it from the tap. He stares at Maka's door as he leans against the counter, taking a sip. He knows she's right behind that door, sleeping without a care in the world. _But she could not be_. His fears remind him. That battle could have gone the way he thought it had in that moment. He would have been powerless to stop it. Asura could have killed her right then, or at any point when she was fighting alone. His brave meister. _Fighting alone_. The thought sickens him and he pours the rest of the water down the drain, leaving his empty glass in the sink.

He leaves the kitchen but stops at her door. He knows she's safe, but the uneasiness in his heart yearns to make sure. He really shouldn't bother her. He can't let her see him like this, it would only worry her. The thought of going back to his own room only reminds him of the memory that continues to plague him. Somehow without his knowledge his hands had already opened the door. He sighs and steps in, closing it soundlessly behind him.

She's lying there, eyes closed and breathing soft and steady. Her hair shimmers slightly as the glow from the moon hits it through the window. What would he have done without her? He couldn't bear the thought. She was everything to him. His meister, his partner, his best friend, his family, his... love. He grimaces at the last part, however true it is, it's still uncool to admit it. He takes a small step toward her. He really shouldn't be doing this. What would she say if she woke to find him just staring at her. His head hurt at just the thought of the chop he'd receive.

Before he knew it though he was standing beside her at the side of her bed. His eyes scanning every part of her sleeping form, desperate for the assurance everything was fine. His eyes become unfocused as he continues to think. Suddenly a cool, soft hand touches his own and pulls him out of the darkness of his mind.

"Soul?" Her voice is barely audible.

"Um. I uh. Sorry Maka. I wasn't trying to be a creep or anything. I just. Uh." He doesn't know quite what to say. He is grateful that it's night and the darkness hides his blushing face. He prepares to get hit, but it never comes. Instead she gently pulls him arm, moving the blanket aside as an invitation. He can't help but comply. He sighs heavily in relief as he lies down next to her.

"Wasamatter?" She murmurs, groggy and half asleep.

"Nightmare." He says, hoping she won't ask anything else.

"Watabout?" Comes her reply and he stares at her, her eyes still closed.

"Bad memory." He relays, knowing that she won't prod any further into that answer. She's never been one to hound him about his past. She cracks her eyes open to look into his.

"Let's make new ones then." She says with a tired but meaningful smile and wraps her thin arms around him. He grins back at her, his own eyes growing heavy as he falls into sleep. He dreams about her smile for the rest of the night.


	2. Day 2: Trust

**A/N: **Second day of Soma Week on Tumblr. Day 2- Trust.

This takes place after meeting Arachne for the first time, and Maka was hit with that web spell that caused her not to be able to move. I didn't really intend for it to end so fluffily, but I guess that's what happens when a story writes itself based on a prompt. I rather like it though. I hope you guys do too. 5 more days of stories to go!

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Trust

She hated this, not being able to move. She felt weak and powerless and dependent. All the things she focused so hard on not being. Even if this was for a short time, it was practically her worst nightmare come true. She was useless. She looked up with her eyes at the ceiling in thought, her friends had all left for the day and Soul promised to bring her something to eat when he came back from saying goodbye to them. She was so lost in her musings that she didn't see him come back into the room with a tray of food for her.

"Oi." He stated dryly to get her attention. She looked at him quickly as she snapped back to reality.

"Hey." She answered, trying to keep the gloominess from her voice. It didn't really fool him though. He knew her, and he could tell the moment he looked at her staring off into space what was upsetting her. He set the tray down on a table next to the bed.

"You hungry?" He asked, preserving his cool tone of voice, but lifting one eyebrow to show he was interested in her answer.

"Not really." Came her reply. He scowled at her; it wouldn't do her any good to starve herself just because she hated to receive help.

"Come on. You have to eat something. You haven't eaten all day." He gruffly let out, sitting next to her and picking up the fork to gather some food with it. He looked at her pointedly and she blushed.

"There's no way I'm letting you feed me, Soul!" She argued. He smirked; he loved to see her embarrassed. He watched her puff out her cheeks, look away, and her face turn red. He couldn't help himself; he liked to see her flustered.

"Come on." He prodded. "Don't you trust me?" He arched his eyebrows in a very uncool, but necessary, puppy face. She caved.

"Well, of course I trust you, I, just don't like having to be fed like a baby." She huffed. He held the food at her mouth and wiggled it up and down enticingly. She glared at him, eyes narrowing with doubt. She sensed mischief written all over his wavelength. She slowly opened her mouth, but winced at the same time. He laughed darkly, putting the bite in her mouth carefully. She opened one eye, and chewed it slowly and let her face relax.

He continued to feed her and they talked and he continued to grin with a little devilish gleam in his eye that unnerved her so that with each bite she expected the worst. It never came and he laughed to himself at her cute little reactions every time. Before she knew it the food was almost gone and she had completely relaxed.

"See, all done." He said with a wide grin as he held the last bite in front of her face. She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth. "I told you that you could trust me. " He said with a playful bite to his voice that caused her eyes to widen as he smeared some food on the tip of her nose before shoving the last bite in her mouth. She made strangled little whines as she chewed and crinkled her nose in despair, while Soul tilted his head back and laughed loudly. She swallowed and growled at him angrily, while he continued to laugh.

"But that's what you get for not believing me." His voice softened and he put his face close to hers. She stopped and pouted slightly at him, unsure of why he was so close to her. He took his hand and wiped the food off her nose with the back of his finger and lightly kissed the spot it had been. The next second he was already up with the empty tray and making his way out the door. He stopped as he reached the doorway and turned his head back to her.

"Next time, don't doubt that you can trust me ok." He said with his signature smirk and was gone, not seeing the smile that crossed her face.


	3. Day 3: Protection

**A/N: **Day 3 of Soma Week. Protection. I really enjoyed writing this! This one is my favorite by far. I hope you guys get as caught up in it as I did. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think.

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"You're really something else!" He yelled at her, having just got home from Stein's extra lesson with the ridiculous candles.

"Why are you mad at me for wanting to get stronger? That's what we are supposed to do!" She spit back at him slamming the door behind her as she entered the apartment behind him.

"I know that Maka but that's NOT why you are pushing it so hard so don't play stupid with me!" He turned to face her as they both stopped in the kitchen.

"Don't call me stupid, Soul! I just don't want you to get hurt again, what's so wrong with that?!"

"There nothing wrong with that Maka! You just have it all fucking backwards! **I** am the weapon and **YOU** are the meister. You need to remember your place!" He glared at her, seething. She opened her mouth wide and looked at him with angry betrayal.

"Remember my place?!" She said incredulously. "What is that supposed to mean? What are you a chauvinist now?!" She screamed. He tilted his head back and brought his hand up to his head to growl in exasperation, then pointed at her.

"You know that's not how I meant that! It's MY job to defend YOU! It's MY job to protect YOU! Get that through you're thick head!" He knew he was really losing his cool, but she had made him so unbelievably angry with how she's been after the incident in Rome.

"Well I don't want that to be your job! I don't want you to get hurt because of MY WEAKNESS! So from now on don't bother! It's not your 'job' anymore!" She was screaming at the top of her lungs. He couldn't stand it anymore. He was blind in their fight and he had lost the ability to control his reactions, and her last statement just ground into him. He grabbed her by the arms a little more forcefully than he wanted to and spun her around to pin her against the counter so she was forced to look him in the eyes.

"It's not just my duty as a weapon to protect my meister with my life! It's my duty as a MAN to protect the woman I LOVE." He growled at her, his anger subsiding just enough to make him start shaking from the intensity of his words. He prepared for her to bite back with something else, but she just stared at him. They both just silently stared into each others eyes, breathing heavily from screaming. Then he saw it. Her eyes changed. What was once narrowed and hardened in anger became round and fearful and pained, full of tears that threatened to fall. When her voice cut through the thick air around them, it was quiet and broken.

"Why can't the woman protect the man _she_ loves?"

Her words hit him, erasing all the frustration from his chest. He realized she was just as afraid of losing him as he was of losing her. He let go of her arms and wrapped his around her tightly, resting his cheek against the top of her head. She stayed silent but leaned her weight against him in response. They both silently agreed that from that moment on, they'd protect each other equally.


	4. For Each Other

**A/N:** This was requested to go along with artwork by a friend jonnnyboy on tumblr. Check out his artwork because it is awesome! There is a link to his page and the artwork on my profile. =)

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It was just one of those days again, not much to do around school or at least as far as he was concerned. Soul was lazily propped back on his chair with his feet on the desk, resting his eyes. He opened one eye drearily to glance over at his meister and almost laughed aloud. Of course that bookworm was studying when they didn't even have a teacher for the moment. Doctor Stein had just been about to cut into some exotic and most likely endangered animal when he was called to supervise another one of Black Star's fights; and that meant it was a pretty cool day if he had anything to say about it, but of course Maka wouldn't see it that way. He scowled at the back of her head, nose in a book like always, why couldn't she just relax sometimes.

He was just about to close his eyes again when he noticed the title of the book she was so intently studying, _JAZZ, _it said in big bold letters. He raised an eyebrow; Maka was studying a book on jazz? He leaned forward a bit to look at her closer, moving to lay his head in his arms on the desk like he was sleeping. He peered at her over the top of his arm, watching her facial expressions change as she read, as he usually did when he was pretending to sleep during class. He watched as she pouted at something and then cut her eyes in what he knew to be determination, before switching back to a pout and biting her bottom lip in a look that was all too familiar to him.

Frustration. Frustration mixed with self-loathing. The look that he himself has made countless times as he sat at a piano in his family home, crumbling sheet after sheet of scores he knew weren't good enough; the look of just not being able to get something right no matter how many times you try. This, however, made him all the more concerned for her. After all it was just a book, not a test or a technique they couldn't master, why would she be so frustrated over reading a stupid book?

He watched as her fingers clenched around the cover as she continued to read and did her lower lip just tremble? He knew that she no doubt looked perfectly normal to any of the other students but he knew her too well for that, and he didn't even need to sense her wavelength to know that she was greatly disappointed in herself. With that thought it finally dawned on him what was happening. He felt his heart jump a little as he realized she was trying, and in her mind failing, to understand him. She was studying something important to him to get closer to him.

He let his hidden features soften and a lazy but loving smile crossed his face. She didn't have to do that, the fact that she didn't understand the complexities of music was something he genuinely loved her for, in her he found that he could relax about music instead of constantly working not to come up short compared to his prodigy brother. When he played for her she didn't see the slight mistakes he made because all she could understand was his emotion behind it. She didn't need to study herself ragged trying to understand those things, but he knew she wouldn't stop until she got it right. She'd go at it until she exhausted herself, it had already been the entire class and she hadn't so much as looked up once.

Soul lifted his head to look around the classroom, wondering how long Stein had been gone and realized that the classroom was completely empty. His jaw dropped and he made an aggravated growl as he looked at the time. She had been so focused on that book that it was halfway into their lunch period and he had been so focused on her that he hadn't even noticed.

"Oi. Bookworm." He grumbled, inwardly laughing at her annoyed glare in his direction at the nickname. "Why didn't you wake me up, we're missing lunch." He muttered in annoyance back at her. She didn't even look up; she simply pulled out a boxed lunch from her bag and placed it in front of him. He noticed she didn't get anything out for herself and he frowned before smirking coolly.

"You know if you ate something more often, maybe you wouldn't be such a tiny-tits." He teased, trying to get any kind of reaction from her. All he received was a hushed 'shut up and eat, Soul'. He glared in her direction and dug into his lunch, watching her intently. She turned a page and he saw her shake slightly. His frown deepened but he said nothing, shoving more food into his face instead. He caught her shivering again, and again, each time swallowing his words with another bite of food until he just couldn't stand it anymore. He pushed his food aside and stood up, still not even gaining a glance from her. He shook himself out of his track jacket and draping it over her shoulders with a blush spreading over his cheeks.

Maka's eyes widened when she felt his warmth on the inside of his jacket around her back, but she didn't look up. A faint pink blush spread on her own cheeks and she awkwardly cleared her throat.

"W-what are you doing?" She asked with quiet nervousness.  
He merely reestablished his apathetic facial expression and sat back down, still refusing to look at her because if he did that wall would crumble instantly and he couldn't afford to let her see that.

"You need to take better care of yourself bookworm." was his dry reply. "How can you make me into the coolest death scythe ever if you don't eat and catch cold." He could feel her eyes on him now but he just went back to his food like he didn't notice her looking at him with those round green eyes and that adorable small smile she gave him when he did something she appreciated. Just thinking about it made his face grow a little warmer. He smirked when out of the corner of his vision he saw her mark her place in her book and pull out her own lunch, whispering 'Thanks Soul' before she took a bite, reopening her book and letting the comfortable silence of their wavelengths surround them as they shared their simple lunch alone in the empty classroom.


	5. Baby Me

**A/N:** I hardly ever write just pure unadulterated fluff like this but I wrote this drabble for a "cuddle" prompt and yea... fluff just happened. It flew out of my fingers like sparkly rainbows that mewed like baby kittens and transformed into words on the computer screen... and that's exactly how this and the next chapter came to be. So enjoy.

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**Baby Me**

Maka looked at her partner currently curled up on the couch, he looked miserable. She absently stirred the soup she was making for him as she watched him from the kitchen. She'd never seen him so ill and it worried her, even if it was only the flu. She shook her head and turned back to the food. If he had only gone to get vaccinated with her he'd be perfectly fine right now, and how in the name of Lord Death does one have a fear of needles as a scythe anyway?

She turned the burner off and spooned some of the soup she had made into a bowl for him, pouring him a cup of tea as well. She carried it to the living room and set it on the coffee table to free her hands in order to check his temperature. She softly put her hand to his forehead as he griped about her being in the way of the T.V.

"Oh hush. You still have a fever, I made you some soup. You should eat." She said, sitting next to him. He shook his head like a stubborn child.

"Fine, at least drink something. It will make your throat feel better." She motioned to the tea, only receiving a pout and a shake of his sleep-tousled head.

"You don't want that either? Well what _do_ you want?" She asked with slight frustration at his difficulty, not expecting his arms to pull her down to lay with him. She was startled for a second and he pulled his blanket around them both.

"You." He mumbled into her hair and relaxed into the couch. She did as well, smiling softly with slightly pink cheeks. She wrapped her arms around him soothingly stroking his hair as he fell asleep, cuddling and humming to him like the big sick baby he was. And she couldn't have been happier.


	6. Never

**A/N:** I hardly ever write just pure unadulterated fluff like this but I wrote this drabble for a "cuddle" prompt and yea... fluff just happened. It was thought up in the dreams of newborns, given corporeal form by the giggles of fairies as they sprinkled it with fairy dust made from sugar and happiness and then given to me to transcribe into words in the computer in the mouth of a baby panda as it came to give me baby panda kisses...that's right... in the manner that ALL fluff is born. Anyway so yea, I hope you enjoy it.

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**Never**

Maka curled her toes into the carpet and clenched her hands around the fabric of her pajama bottoms. She was standing in the dark… and in her partner's room no less. She blushed heavily and chewed her bottom lip, she was so stupid to come in here. What would he think if he woke up to see her like this? At best he would never let her live it down, teasing her until the end of time about it. At worst…. she tasted blood between her teeth, her lip stinging. He would leave her just like in her dream.

She tried to keep her breath steady as fresh tears burned her eyes. 'Useless' he had called her, 'incapable of doing anything on her own' just like the girls in the Book of Eibon. She couldn't pull her own weight, always relying on him, always having to be protected at his expense. A bolt of pain ran up her chest as she remembered the scar she had caused. He had every right to leave her. He had every right to find a different meister, one that wouldn't get him killed because of her weakness.

He had done just that in her sleep, that's why she was here now instead of her own room where she belonged. That's why her feet were moving closer to his bed of their own accord instead of the door where her mind told them to go. The tears finally fell as she stopped at his bed, watching the steady way his chest rose and fell.

She stayed this way for an indeterminable amount of time, crying with the guilt weighing down on her until she felt a large warm hand grasp hers. She gasped at the unexpected contact and realized she must have woken him. This was it then, the moment she had been expecting for longer than she cared to admit.

"Soul? I. I'm sorry…" He harshly 'shhh'ed her and she squeezed her eyes shut to brace for the dreaded words.

"Com'ere"

She felt herself being yanked down onto his mattress and she opened her eyes in shock. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and pulled her deep into his chest. Before she could think of the words to explain herself his voice sounded again.

"How'd you know I's havin'a bad'ream? You always know'en I'need you. Don't leave me 'kay? Ever."

She couldn't believe it, she nodded her head fiercely against his chest and wrapped her arms around him as well, burrowing into him intensely.

"Never." Was the only word she whispered.


	7. Always Here: Part One

**A/N: This is a really short drabble but it will have a companion piece in Soul's pov. I wrote this for a prompt given to me by albinoscythe on tumblr, "last words from your muse to mine" and this is what happened. I may lengthen this into a full blown story if I get enough reviews for that. Maybe. **

**And yes this is a character death story. Sorry.  
**

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Always Here: Part One

Maka coughed weakly and lifted her heavy eyelids to see the blurry images around her. She felt worse today and it concerned her in the back of her clouded mind. She swallowed the dryness in her throat and struggled to sit up, not noticing the familiar warm hands until they wrapped around her to help her. That's right, Soul was here; was always here, beside her. She looked up at his slowly clearing form as the fog began to lift from her eyes and smiled at him in appreciation. She watched him attempt to smile back but it turned into more of a grimace, nothing changing in his eyes.

She felt terrible, when she had the strength to think about it, that she was such a burden on him. She couldn't even begin to figure out how long she had been sick, it was all just one huge day to her, never-ending; and he was ever the loyal partner. She knew it wasn't fair for him, but what could she do? She couldn't stop him, couldn't make him see reason. She had tried in the beginning, but now her words had faded into short sentences and cracking one worded questions, unable to string them together through her exhaustion and pain. Still, in the recesses of her mind it killed her, seeing him sit patiently by her side, only moving to help her when she struggled.

The need for words between them had long since passed and now on the fleeting moments she was awake they sat in heavy silence. But today would be different, she could feel it. That brief moment of realization when she awoke came to the forefront of her mind and she knew.

"Soul…" Her underused voice grated softly against the air between them. He turned his attention away from the window and towards her, eyes creasing in question. She pushed a small smile to him again and her fingers twitched toward him as much as she could muster, which he gently took. Before he could ask her what she needed she forced herself to speak again.

"Thank you; for always being here." Her statement startled him, she could see it on his face, feel it in the soft tightening of his hand around hers. She wanted to say so much more but her vision was fading and her lips only barely carried the next words. _I'll always love you. _She wasn't sure if she had actually said them or if her mouth had only moved in silence but it was all she could do before her hand relaxed limply and she drifted into the darkness.


	8. Always Here: Part Two

**A/N:** So this is the companion piece to the drabble I wrote for albinoscythe in the previous chapter. It made me cry writing it.

**Warning: This is a character death fic. It hurts. **

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Soul stared into the abyss of his mind as he sat in his usual chair beside the bed that held his sleeping meister, but the weak raspy coughing stirred him from his empty musings and he looked down to see her thin frame struggling to sit up. He reached over her, wrapping his arms around her to help her noticing she looked startled for a second before looking up at him and offering a hint of a smile. His heart broke for what seemed like the hundredth time since this started and he forced his lips to return her efforts, not quite making it and instead his mouth pursed into an awkward grimace to keep his eyes dry.

The guilt that had glistened, unspoken, in her faded eyes tore through his soul and he kicked himself mentally for causing it again. All that mattered was the way she felt, not him. He should have tried harder to smile for her, to show her she wasn't the burden she thought she was. He had tried to convince her of that since the beginning but his stubborn little meister wouldn't understand. He wasn't by her side every day out of duty or obligation. His loyalty didn't stem from his status as her weapon; far from it. He owed her this, at the very least, and wanted it at most. He wanted to show her that he loved her, no matter how sick she became. He wanted to prove he'd never leave her no matter the circumstance. But he feared all he accomplished was her feeling like a job to him, like she was a weight he had to carry before he could go along his way with a new meister and become the powerful deathscythe they had plans of making him.

He certainly hadn't helped that image with his lack of conversation. Sure, they had talked and laughed and cried at first; but as time wore on and she slept more and more, his words dried up and he couldn't force them back out. Now it seemed routine, she would wake, he would help her, hand her things she wanted or needed, tried to get her to drink or eat, and she would sleep again. Each time those emeralds peeked through her tired lids he wanted to speak; he truly did, but by now his throat felt desiccated and cracked.

He mulled over these things gathering in his chest as he stared out of the window until her soft whisper of his name interrupted the silence in the room. He turned immediately, his eyes full of fearful questions. Something in her eyes unsettled him greatly and he looked down to take a shaky breath before asking her what she needed. He noticed the slight reaching movements of her fingers and he picked up her ice cold hand, squeezing slightly to warm it in his. He worried momentarily that she wasn't warm enough and told himself to get her another blanket when he could. Before he could voice his question and concern she spoke again.

_Thank you, for always being here._

Her quiet words made the loudest shatter of his heart and he stared into her eyes in physical shock. He barely registered gripping her hand as tightly as he felt comfortable with. And he tried to clear the dust from his throat to speak back to her; to tell her she never has to thank him for that, to tell her he… But her eyes fluttered and she gasped slightly, still moving her lips. He strained his ears to hear it over the thundering pulses of his heart.

_I'll always love you._

He almost couldn't believe it, it seemed so unreal. Her barely whispered words, the small smile on her face just for him, the dulling of her eyes as they closed, her hand no longer tensed in his. He nearly jumped toward her, finally uttering more words than he had in a very long time.

"Maka? Maka. Maka!" His breath was harsh against his lungs as he sat on the edge of her bed, shaking and moving his trembling hands to brush her face and check her. No. He wasn't ready for this, just a little longer, please! But no amount of pleading could stir her. His clawed fingers around her shoulders pulled her to him as her last words echoed in his head over and over. _Thank you, for always being here…I'll always love you. _

"I'll always be here Maka, I'll always love you." Murmuring his reply into her ear as he cried all the tears he hadn't allowed himself to show her since the day he heard Stein say the words that started it all. He should have said those words back then, he should have said them every day; but she had said them first and didn't even give him the chance to say them back. But he would, and did as he stood in front of the carved letters of her name every day.

"I'll always be here Maka, I'll always love you."


End file.
